Reclosable dispensing cap



Oct. 22, 1968 M. B. sruu.

RECLOSABLE DISPENSING CAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 12, 1967 INVENTOR. Morton E3. StuLL Oct. 22, 1968 M. B. STULL 3,406,879

RECLOSABLE DISPENSING CAP Filed July 12, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

MOFIIOH :5 S u I. L

United States Patent m ABSTRACT THE DISCLOSURE' A reclosable dispensing cap construction comprising a tubular body adapted for mounting on a container, and

a cup-shaped cap which is turnably carried by the body and also is axially movable thereon between lowered and raised positions. When lowered, an offset orifice of the cap is closed by a portion of the tubular body. Unscrewing the cap raises it and opens the orifice for dispensing.

The cap now always remains raised, being held by a I yieldable detent. When the cap is again turned in the screwing-down direction another portion ofthe bo'dy closes the orifice while the cap stays raised. Reverse turning opens the orifice, etc. Because the cap stays raised after the initial opening, the product is not squeezed outand wasted during all subsequent closings.

Cross reference 1 Copending application of Morton B. S'tnll, SerfNo. 602,004, filed Dec. 15, 1966, and entitled, Dispensing Closure Cap. I

Background This invention relates to reclosable dispendingcaps for containers and the like, and more particularly to caps of this type wherein a tubular discharge body or neck on the container movably mounts a cup-shaped captive cap which has the discharge orifice.

Heretofore, dispensingv caps of the above general type involved an action where the cap member was pushed axially in or downward to effect the reclosing. This resulted in an additional and unwanted discharge of the product occurring through the orifice, due to the reducing of the,

available space for the product within the cap. Such discharge was not only wasteful but also messy and inconvenient since it had to be wiped off anddisposed of.

Where prior caps involved solely a turning movement to open and close them there was avoided the unwanted additional discharge of product but the initial seal of the dispenser was not sufiiciently tight and reliable, so that trouble was experienced with leakage and loss of product prior to the device reaching the ultimate consumer.

Summary The above drawbacks and disadvantages of prior reclosable dispensing cap structures are obviated by the present invention, and one object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved reclosable captive-type cap wherein the initial factory seal is of one especially effective kind and wherein subsequent seals or closures by the consumer are of another kind and can be readily eifected without an accompanying unwanted additional discharge of the product occurring. This is accomplished by the provision of a dispensing cap structure wherein a captive cap has a lowered, especially tight sealing position on the tubular carrier body, and has two difierent raised positions thereon, one of which is for dispensing and the other for subsequent closing or reclosing by the consumer, which latter involves a closure means separate from the initial factory closure means. The two dilferent raised positions are not such as to cause appreciable additional discharge of product from the cap orifice when the cap is shifted from open to closed position while raised. Preferably such shifting involves purely a turning movement of the cap while it is raised.

Other objects and features of the invention are to provide an improved captive dispensing cap as above set forth, wherein the required initial opening and subsequent reclosing operations required of the user are carried out without any special knowledge or instructions, being for all practical purposes the same as the well-known unscrewing and screwing movements of conventional dispensing captive closures; thus the user need not learn anything new but will instead automatically unmistakably carryout the correct motions without knowing that special functions or results ensue; to provide an improved closure as outlined, which is especially simple and economical to fabricate and mold; to provide a closure which is foolproof, easy to use, small and compact, capable of various sizes of orifice openings, and which promotes neatness and tidiness in its use.

Other features and advantages will hereinfater appear.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an improved captive cap made according to the invention, mounted on a container only a portion of which latter is shown.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the dispensing cap and upper central portion of the container.

FIG. 3 is an axial sectional view of the dispending cap construction, with the tubular body member shown in side elevation. The cap is shown in the factory-sealed position.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the tubular body of the cap construction.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the movable cap part of the cap construction.

FIG. 7 is an axial sectional view somewhat like that of FIG. 3, but showing the cap in the unscrewed, raised dispensing position.

FIG. 8 is an axial sectional view like that of FIGS. 3 and 7, but showing the cap in a raised, reclosing position.

As shown, the cap construction comprises a tubular body part designated generally by the numeral 10, which is adapted to be mounted on the upper portion or wall 12 of the container. The body 10 may constitute an integral part of the container 12, or else it may be a separate part which is attached to the container in any suitable manner. Movably carried by the body 10 is a captive cap 14, having generally the shape of an inverted cup with a somewhat frusto-conical side wall 16 joined to a planar, sloping side wall 18, both said side walls terminating in an annular lower rim portion 20 and an external head 22. The tubular body 10 has a central bore 24 which receives liquid from the container 12, as will be understood.

The captive cap 14 is mounted on the body 10 for turning movement, and for axial movement between a lowered, factory sealing position illustrated in FIG. 3, and a raised, dispensing position shown in FIG. 7. From the FIG. 7 position the cap is turnable to a sealing position illustrated in FIG. 8. The cap 14 has a flat, horizontal top wall 26, and in its sloping planar side wall 18 has a generally horizontal discharge orifice or slit 28. It is seen that the orifice 28 is thus offset with respect to the axis of the cap 14.

Considering FIG. 3, when the cap 14 is in the lowered, sealing position, the orifice 28 is closed and occupied by a portion 30 of the upper rim 32 of the tubular body 10. Additionally, the cap 14 has a centrally disposed depending annular internal flange 34 which is received in the bore 24 of the body 10, effecting a second and very secure seal by which the product contained in the bore 24 is prevented from escaping during shipment, storage, display, etc.

The cap 14 and tubular body 10 have cooperable means thereon, responsive to turning of the cap for shifting the latter axially from its lowered to its raised position. The said means comprises a cam track 36 which extends around the body for slightly less than 180, said track being engageable by an internal stop lug 38 carried at the inside of the lower rim portion of the cap 14. As seen in phantom in FIG. 3, the lug 38 is at the lowermost portion of the cam track 36. When, considering FIG. 2, the cap 14 is unscrewed or turned in a counterclockwise direction the position of FIG. 7 will be reached by virture of the stop lug 38 traveling upward on the cam track 36 to the new position indicated.

For such turning and raising of the cap 14, the orifice 28 thereof will be shifted away from the upper rim 32 of the tubular body, and will therefore be open for the discharge of product from the container.

In accordance with the invention, cooperable yieldable detent means are provided on the body 10 and the cap 14 for yieldably holding the cap in the raised position of FIGS. 7 and 8 after being shifted thereto in response to the cap being turned. The said detent means comprises an annular bead disposed in the cap 12, and a pair of spaced apart annular beads 42 and 44 carried by the exterior of the tubular body 10.

The body 10 and cap 14 are molded of plastic substance so as to be yieldable, as will be well understood, whereby the detent head 40 can be shifted upward and forced past the detent bead 42 under the action of the stop lug 38 traveling upward on the cam track 36. The new position of the detent bead 40 is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The second annular bead 44 on the tubular body 10 serves to hold the cap 14 captive on the body, by virtue of engagement with the internal head 40 of the cap.

In accordance with the invention, the cap 14 after being shifted to the raised position of FIG. 7, is turnablc while still raised, in order to effect a reclosing of the discharge orifice 28. For this purpose, the tubular body 10 has a sector-shaped upward projection 46 on its rim 32, said projection being received in the discharge aperture 28 and shutting off the same for one given operative raised position of the cap, that shown in FIG. 8.

For cooperation with the stop lug 48 in the cap 14 the tubular body 10 is provided with stop lugs to fix the respective raised discharging and sealing positions of the cap after initial unscrewing by the consumer. The body 10 has a stop lug 48 extending upward from the uppermost portion of the cam track 36, the lug 48 being engageable with the cap lug 38 and serving to halt the unscrewing, turning movement of the cap after the detent rim or bead 40 thereof has been forced upward past the bead 42 of the body 10. The tubular part 10 has an additional stop lug 50 disposed at the same level as the lug 48 and also engageable with the cap lug 38, this time in response to the cap being turned clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2, i.e., in a screwing down direction although the cap remains raised and does not again attain the lowered position of FIG. 3. Such engagement between the lugs 38 and 50 is illustrated in FIG. 8, and fixes the closed or reclosed position of the dispensing cap, wherein the upward projection 46 of the tubular body 10 occupies the discharge orifice 28 of the cap. For such raised position of the cap 14 the sealing flange 34 is no longer disposed in the bore 24 of the body 10, and accordingly the closing of the cap depends on the fit between the raised sector 46 of the body in the discharge orifice 28 of the cap. However, it is now not necessary for a very tight seal to be had, inasmuch as the container has passed through the shipping, storage, and sales phases, and is now in the hands of the consumer. For consumer use, the rescaling as effected by the sector 46 occupying the discharge orifice 28 is in most circumstances satisfactory. However, if it should be desired to again tightly reseal the cap construction, the consumer can force the cap 14 downward to again occupy the factory sealed position of FIG. 3.

It will now be understood that inasmuch as the sealing effected by the consumer involves merely the turning of the cap 14 between the positions of FIGS. 7 and 8, the space within the cap is not reduced during the reclosing, and therefore no additional unwanted product is forced out from the discharge orifice 28. Therefore, it is possible to easily be neat and tidy when using the dispenser, and the consumer is not required to wipe off a considerable amount of surplus product, or to dispose of and waste the same.

Moreover, the closing and opening action involving the turning of the cap 14 either clockwise or counterclockwise is especially easy or smooth. It will be understood that the operations required of the consumer in order t open and reclose the cap construction are no different from those required with an ordinary captive-type screw cap wherein the unscrewing effects the opening, and the reverse turning or screwing movements effects the closing. As with such conventional caps, the present improved closure also involves a simple unscrewing movement to open the cap and then the reverse turning or screwing movement to effect the closing. The consumer, in effecting the closing, is not required to know that the cap remains in its raised position, inasmuch as he will observe the occupation of the discharge orifice 28 by the raised sector portion 46 of the tubular body, and will be thereby apprised of the fact that the cap is closed or reclosed and rescaled.

Moreover, in accordance with the invention, an adjustable flow from the cap construction is possible, by adjusting the cap 14 to various discharging positions wherein the orifice 28 is A open, /2 open, open, etc. Also, the user can have an indication, by means of graduations, as to the extent of opening of the orifice. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the container wall 12 can have indicia marked A, /2 and /1, and the cap 14 can have a cooperable index mark 52 whereby the open, /2 open etc. positions of the cap are clearly shown. Intermediate setting will have intermediate values.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a novel and improved captive dispensing cap construction wherein unwanted additional discharge of product does not accompany the reclosing of the cap, and wherein the initial factory sealing of the cap construction is tight and secure, and not likely to fail or leak. The cap construction is seen to be especially simple, easily molded, small and compact, and foolproof in its operation.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims, and portions of the improvement may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A reclosable dispensing cap construction comprising, in combination:

(a) a tubular body adapted to be mounted on a con tainer to receive liquid therefrom,

(b) a cup-like cap having a discharge orifice, said cap being mounted on said body for both turning movement and axial movement between raised and lowered positions, said cap being movable to different operative positions while raised and out of said lowered position,

(0) cooperable means on said body and cap, responsive to turning of the cap for shifting the latter axially from its lowered to said raised position,

(d) a closure portion of the tubular body shutting off the orifice of the cap when the latter is in the lowered position, wherein the improvement comprises:

(e) cooperable yieldable detent means on said body and cap, for yieldably holding the cap in raised position after being shifted thereto in response to its being turned, and

(f) said tubular body having a second closure portion which shuts off the cap orifice for one given operative raised position of the cap.

2. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 1 where- (a) the discharge orifice of the cap is laterally offset from its axis,

(b) the different operative positions of the cap constituting ditferent rotative positions thereof while the cap is raised and out of said lowered position.

3. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 2, wherein:

(a) the second closure portion of the tubular body comprises an arcuate extension projecting upward from the top rim of the body.

4. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 3, wherein:

(a) the first-mentioned closure portion of the tubular body comprises the top rim thereof.

5. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 4, wherein:

(a) the cap has an external configuration similar to that of a truncated cone intercepted by a transverse plane.

6. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 2, wherein:

(a) said cap has projecting stop lug means,

(b) said body having a pair of stop lugs cooperable respectively with the lug means of the cap for limiting turning movements of the latter when lowered and raised to the shut off and the open positions respectively.

7. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 6, wherein:

(a) said body has an additional stop lug engageable with the lug means of the cap when the latter is raised, to limit turning movement thereof in one direction to the raised, closed position.

8. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 6, wherein:

(a) the pair of stop lugs are disposed approximately 180 apart.

9. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 6, wherein:

(a) the body has a helical cam track extending between the pair of stop lugs and constituting the co operable shifting means thereof.

10. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 6, wherein:

(a) the projecting lug means of the cap is adapted to ride on said cam track and constitutes the cooperable shifting means of the cap. 11. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 1, wherem:

5 (a) the cooperable detent means comprises a projection on the exterior of the tubular body and a projection in the cap, engageable with the body projection.

12. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 1, wherein:

(a) means are provided, for holding the cap captive on the tubular body when the cap is in the raised position.

13. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 12, where- (a) the means holding the cap captive, and the cooperable detent means comprise a pair of spaced annular beads on the exterior of the tubular body and an annular head in the cap, engageable with the body beads.

14. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 1, wherein:

(a) the cap has an annular closure and sealing rib engageable with the inside of the tubular body when the cap is in its lowered position.

15. A reclosable dispensing cap as in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said second closure portion shuts off different fractional parts of the cap orifice for different rotary settings of the cap close to the said given operative raised position, and

(b) means including an index and cooperable indicia on the cap and body, for indicating the fractional parts of the cap orifice which are closed by said second closure portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1966 Santore 222-520 X 7/1966 Moran 222-568 X 40 STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner. 

